They didn’t have them when Mr. Kitty’s 2 (boy and a girl) were tots either. The kids are very close in age and a bit of a handful, so Mr. Kitty improvised harnesses using horse halters and a horse lead (one end tied to each kid, parent holding the middle). He said the only problem was if you accidentally dropped the lead- the kids could take out an entire section of crowd if they got loose. 
Harness user and parent of an extremely active 19 month old checkin’in.
My wife and I have found the harness and lead invaluable. Our son has a facination with any type of vehicle, and would love to run into the stree to be “real close” to all the cars and trucks. In malls, he can run wherever he wants, and I can use the lead to give him subtle directions, like come over this way a little so you don’t run into that wall you’re not seeing right now. It’s also great in preventing him from touching things he shouldn’t, like $400 crystal sculptures, other people’s food, etc. A number of times I’ve also held him up with it when he had stumbled and was otherwise falling.
Another benefit is that the child gets much more activity and excercise than being confined in a strolled.
We have the red one with the picture of Elmo mentioned above. It has a strap that goes around the chest and two adjustable shoulder straps. I can tell you that, once properly fitted, it takes some effort to remove, and could not be removed stealthily. [over-protective Dad mode] I would have probably finished strangling the person trying to do this with the lead before they could finish. [/over-protective Dad mode]
Another great benefit for me, being somewhat tall, is that I don’t have to walk bent over with the harness, as I do when holding his hand. My lower back profoundly appreciates that…
They are also a lifeline in a very crowded place, as was mentioned above.
Finally, a word about wrist straps. Mrs. Trupa, MD, and well informed Mummy in general, vetoed them because a certain proportion of young kids have overly elastic ligaments until they get a bit older and are prone to easy joint dislocation (also why one shouldn’t swing a toddler or suspend them from their arms until they’re 4 o 5). If you pop a shoulder on a todddler, they will likley always have a tendancy to have that shoulder joint come out, and could require surgery after finishing growing to tighten up the articulation. (Had a roomate with that problem; he kept a 20lb sandbag and a lenght of rope handy so he could pop it back in himslef)
Once I started walking, I would not ride in a stroller nor did I like to be carried or have my hand held. Add to that the fact that I really liked to go exploring, its a wonder I actually made it to 10. The harness was a sanity saver for my parents. They did get some dirty looks, but mostly they were asked where they could get one.
Personally, I can’t see a reason not use one and many reason to do so.
Hey, I never said my approach was for everyone. 
But I find that being a parent forces you to get creative at times. Like, if I were in a situation where I needed both hands and had to keep a grip on rjungjr, I’d hoist him on my shoulders and work from there. Musses up my hair, but it’s starting to thin anyway…
My mom thought I was being mean when I put my sister on a leash (one of those extend-y ones for dogs). My sister, on the other hand, loved being able to run around, but still stay within reach.
So it’s not the kids that’ll be the problem…
Older little kids can have a fanny pack on a leash. They can carry thier own snacks/crayons/whatever. (Keeps them amused. Anything that keeps them amused and safe is good.)
Little little kids or particularly adventurous-full harness. Becca would have tossed herself over many a safety barrier without this lovely modern invention. Child was headstrong, fearless, and quick! It can’t replace keeping an eye on them, but it can help out in the moments where you can’t. Its not supposed to replace parenting, just give you another tool to do it well.
My mom’s still alive because of a harness-type leash. Mom loved running out into the road and my grandmother just couldn’t manage a six year old, two year old with a death wish, and infant all at once. They rigged up a regular dog leash and cloth sort of halter thing, since they weren’t comercially available in the forties, apparently. The leash saved her who knows how many times, even once when she got the car door open while it was still moving.
Me personally, I think they’re great. It’s sort of a sign of how much the parents care. I’ve overheard comments on the leashes from people watching and I’d say there are at least as many positive things said as negative.
When Chloe was born, we bought a couple Maya Wrap slings. They work essentially like a D-ring belt - gather the fabric end and thread it through the two rings, then pull to tighten. The nice thing about it is you can also use it as a “seatbelt” in grocery carts and restaurant high chairs, and as a leash, by looping it around your kid and holding onto the tail.
I haven’t had the need to use it like that yet, but Chloe’s such a getzinta just at the crawling stage, that I’m sure it’ll come in handy.
As for teaching kids risk assessment, that is indeed a necessary part of parenting. However, I don’t think toddlers have the neurological equipment to assess risks like getting kidnapped, or to remember that they could lose their parents in stimulating and new surroundings.
Amen sister! Toddlers ricochet from one suicidal activity to another. As parents our jobs are to hold them back from the brink.
Problem is, you can’t teach a young toddler risk assessment; their minds are still cognitively too undeveloped. Try to teach your two-year old about the dangers of running into the street all you like; he/she simply won’t get it no matter how hard you try. All a parent can do is to be vigilant enough to keep the child out of danger until he/she is old enough to comprehend the danger AND has enough impulse-control to reliably avoid it. If a leash helps a parent keep tabs on that rambuctious kid in settings where the parent might easily be distracted at a crucial moment (such as in a crowded airport, or a busy mall during the holiday shopping season), then the parent should use the leash without guilt. Better temporary indgnity (although most adults have no memories of their toddler years, so I’m not sure there’s much dignity at stake in the first place) than an injured (or worse, dead) child.
I fully plan on having one for Alex this summer. Last year, I was <this close> to losing my nephew at the Minnesota State Fair. Thankfully he is old enough to know that not having a familiar face in sight is a Very Bad Thing and he screamed his poor little head off.
Yeah, get one. Forget about what anyone says or how anyone looks at you, it’s just not worth it.
We leashed our son regularly from 18 months to 3 years. Not at home, mind you, but at fairs, airports, amusement parks, etc.
I now have a Maya Wrap sling for our second boy and plan to use it like Aeryn Sun describes.
As rjung says, we parents must be creative at times.
I have a nice picture of me at the top of a ladder in my parents’ kitchen in Hawaii wearing my harness. I had climbed the ladder once while “free”, then after being unceremoniously swept off, my mom put me in my harness and let me climb back up for the photo op. This was probably early 1968, as I was still in diapers. My older sisters wore them also (harnessesa AND diapers) when they were toddlers. My siblings and I were born in 1960, 62, 64, 66, and 69, and my dad was deployed a lot of that time. Even WITH the harness usage, my mom is still a bit whacked, and I think we did it to her in the 60’s.
Another problem with the wrist ones is the potential to cause mischief-my sister used to LOVE to use her’s to wrap around a display and try to pull it down.
I would think the harness would be harder to do that with.
So go for it. Better dirty looks than a dead and/or lost child.
I’ve seen a photo of me in one from around 1952.
(I agree that they were not common.)
Well, you asked. People put Rottweilers on leashes, because they’re unpredictable and dangerous.
I’ve got two kids, and freelance. This means that I was the one with two kids, 16 months apart, at the park and supermarket and bank and hardware store and everywhere else. They’re teenagers now. Leashes for kids were around 10 years ago. For a huge number of reasons, I find them to be 100% inappropriate.
Use a Gerry backpack, which is a highly lightweight framed pack. Use a soft sling carrier, but those are typically for infants. Use a stroller. I defy ANYONE to tell me the name of an air carrier in the United States that will refuse to take the stroller from you at the door of the actual airplane body, at the bottom of the ramp, and store it for you, then bring it right back up at your destination.
Toddler Leashes are dangerous/inappropriate because:
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You run a considerable risk of having a high-speed ( rollerblading/biking/running/skating/boarding ) pedestrian move between you and your child. Not only will they be pulled to the ground, but they can be badly injured or killed.
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They are frequently used to pull a child along. It’s life. Kids have short legs. They don’t walk as fast as adults, and I can not TELL you the number of times I have been in the mall/county fair/ park/town and seen an adult ( yeah, both Moms AND Dads, okay? ) who has been using the Toddler Leashes to pull a child along. You run the risk of having your child pitch over onto their face. The very action of pulling a child by one of these devices also may cause them harm, falling over or not.
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A child learns to negotiate the world, from the safety of a parents’ arms. Then, they walk against you. Then they walk near you. Then they’re off and exploring. If you are going to be in a situation where the off and exploring part is not safe or all right, then use a stroller. If your child screams and cries in a stroller, buy earplugs. Or carry your child.
If you have a lot of children who are toddlers ( certainly one scenario ), then arrange for the airport to send you an electric cart. They will transport you and your brood to the gate safely.
In addition to the safety issues, I personally find these devices to be completely appalling. Humans get a human touch. Dogs get a leash.
Cartooniverse
In other words: be sure to deny your child the freedom to do some controlled exploring and be sure to inflict your child’s frustration on the ears of all the other people in a park/airport/mall because one person has an irrational association of leashes to pets. Hokey dokey.
Let’s see, I reward pets for good behavior, so rewarding a child for good behavior is right out. I always make sure that my pets have identification, so identification on my children is verboten. For long trips, I always bring treats and water for my pets, so I had better be sure to avoid bringing anything like that for my kids. I train my pets to come when I call, so that behavior is clearly inappropriate for my children.
I suppose that I would have some sympathy for this position if there was anything more than an irrational association behind it. (Skateboarders are not allowed in malls or airports and I keep my pets close in parks if there are skateboarders coming on at high speed, so that is a concern only for people who are already otherwise careless.)
I used a torso harness on my daughter, and I don’t think that she came to any lasting harm. The style I used had a method of fastening the harness to a stroller or shopping cart seat, which I highly recommend. It’s absolutely amazing how quickly a toddler can squirm out of a shopping cart seat.
I also had a baby sling, but that’s not really practical once the child is more or less mobile. For one thing, the child is too heavy, and for another, the child wants to get down and walk.
and screaming, squirming toddlers get strapped down into a rolling restraining device while you calmly reach for your earplugs.
I’m a little confused about your reasoning.
Point 1 incorrectly assumes that these leashes are more than a couple of feet long. Anyone riding a skateboard in the two feet that separate me from my child will incur my wrath, leash or no leash.
Point 2 argues against the improper use of the device. Fine argument, but let’s not make blanket condemnations of child halters based on their misuse by some.
Point 3 is unclear to me. My child was able to explore as you describe while wearing his halter, and with the added benefit that I didn’t leave to chance the possiblity that he may make a charge for the edge of Niagara Falls. Railings are great, but they ain’t toddler-proof. Nor should they be. We can’t assume that others are responsible for keeping the environment safe for our small children, so we must take steps to ensure their safetly. Halter and leash fit the bill far better than stroller or backpack IMO, and I’m having a hard time understanding why one is acceptable while the other is appalling.
The stage between mobility and simple reasoning is the scariest I’ve experienced. Many two year olds can outrun their parents in short bursts but few have the ability to understand imminent danger. If my arms were 7 feet long, if I never took my kids to crowded venues, if we quit hiking and going to concerts, I probably wouldn’t need such a device. But with things as they are, I’ll be grateful to have my ‘arm extender’ leash.
The Farmkid always liked it too.
The backpack is out. Aaron is now 30 pounds and about 36 inches tall. He’s too tall and too heavy to ride in a backpack. He’s also too tall and too heavy to carry safely for more than a few minutes. Kids that size have a LOT of momentum, and I’ve come close to dropping him because he was shifting his position.
Second, keeping him in a stroller for very long periods of time isn’t fair to him. He gets frustrated because he can’t go anywhere or see anything. It also doesn’t teach him anything about staying close.
Given that we don’t go places where these are common activities, this point is moot. When we do take him to run around outside, we go to a local athletic field outside practice hours. That way, he gets an entire field to himself to run around in safely. Even if we were to go to the beach or a public park where rollerblading/biking/etc. are permitted, anyone who is stupid enough to get that close to another person is either not very good, not paying attention, or too stupid or selfish to even be permitted to do those things.
Again, I’m not talking about using one while I do my daily errands. Because I know Aaron is not exactly capable of following directions or walking as fast as I do, I do daily errands while Aaron is at school or home with Airman. Most parents I know do the same. When I take Aaron to the grocery store, he is in a shopping cart, strapped in.
Yes, I realize that some parents do drag their kids along. I’ve seen it myself. However, if that is the case, then the child should be in a stroller or cart.
Not possible. As others have pointed out, why should I subject other people to my child’s frustration? When you have a child who’s been restrained in a car seat, and then you restrain him again in a stroller, he’s cramped, he’s cranky, and he needs to get up and walk around a bit. Nothing wrong with that. Ask yourself if you would be willing to remain seated after a flight or car trip. You wouldn’t, so why should I ask that of Aaron?
I’ve asked for assistance from airline and airport personnel before. A few were willing to bend over backwards. Most were not, and I had to carry Aaron, a car seat, and a stroller down long flights of stairs. As he gets older and bigger, this is going to be increasingly problematic.
Lovely sentiment, but wrong. How is forcibly restraining a child in a stroller “the human touch”? If he’s in a harness, he’s got the freedom to go to the window and look at the airplanes. He’s also got the freedom to walk around and stretch his legs, and I don’t have to worry about his taking off.
Robin